BlackBerry KEYone

[Aneres11]

So a new BlackBerry device has been confirmed by TCL at CES today.
As expected, it is the codenamed BlackBerry Mercury!

Creating a thread despite most of you probably moaning and bitching on it as it's cool to do so about BlackBerry these days.

I for one intend to purchase day one, as BB devices are just my thing, for better or for worse... and I had a great time with my Priv which remains one of my favourite BB devices ever.

The specs are still under wraps, as is the official name and dimensions of the phone. These are set to be revealed late Feb and then the device to be released shortly after.

It will run nougat and finally a fingerprint sensor will be in place on a BB device which will be housed in the space bar / key.

I for one cannot wait! There's loads of hands on videos of the device knocking round now too.
I'm not crazy over the silver bar above the screen, why that's not black is beyond me, but I guess I can get over that.

 

[thecurryman]

I agree! This is a day 1 buy for me as well! I really liked the Priv and I hope they price this correctly so they can keep making pkb phones

 

[Aneres11]

Yay another person who is excited haha.

It does look like a really good device, i just hope the specs are up to it.

Bit gutted it win't be available until end of Feb but if they can maybe change that awful silver bar then I'm down. (Unlikely).

 

[Tsepz]

I must say it looks fantastic. I hope the specs live up to the design.

If TCL pockets are big enough and they are smart with their marketing strategy this has the potential to be a force to reckoned with.

 

[Aneres11]

I must say it looks fantastic. I hope the specs live up to the design.

If TCL pockets are big enough and they are smart with their marketing strategy this has the potential to be a force to reckoned with.

Yeah with a bit of luck it will have more success.
They're in a bit of a tricky situation with it though, as they literally threw the highest specs they could at the Priv for the time, but it then became too expensive for your general consumer to buy into.

Whilst the device performed well and I was thankful for high end specs, I always thought it was overpriced and there's no way they could have gained back market share back or even switched people from Apple / Samsung when people's perception of BlackBerry was / still is what it is and that high price.
Therefore I think they will go for mid tier specs in this.
Rumours of snapdragon 625 (is it?) floating around. Apparently it's just ok.

Personally I have no problem with it not being Pixel like fluid as I will keep my iPhone 7 Plus anyway and this will be my Android device on my second line.
I think it's a smarter move for TCL to price it mid range and that's probably going to mean mid range specs. Corporate companies could well buy into using these if the price is right.

For me, it looks to be the BlackBerry I've always wanted since I bought back into them with the Q10. It runs Android, it has a qwerty keypad which has that intuitive capacative touch, it finally has a finger print scanner AND it's in the space bar (too cool, screw you finger print scanners on the back *shudder), the screen is about as big as it can be for a device this size and not gimped by being square, and it looks incredible. It is just ticking boxes all round for me.

There is nothing better than a physical keypad in my opinion. I've always loathed virtual keypads, particularly Android ones including the millions you can download, so this is just going to be incredible for me. Roll on end of Feb!

 

[Hastings101]

It looks very cool and I'll always love hardware keyboards. Plus this form factor is one of my favorites and the fingerprint in the spacebar thing would be really cool. For $3-400 it wouldn't be a bad deal considering hardware keyboards are pretty much extinct.

I don't know if the specs are out yet, but I'd rather they aim for the midrange honestly. Maybe they'll sell more with a lower price, the device won't get burning hot like the 808 in the Priv, have battery life etc. The Priv is a nice looking phone with a good feel to it, but I think if I had paid full retail price for mine I'd have been disappointed.

I don't really know what phones TCL sales to compare it to, but if they don't screw up the price they could at least snag some of the holdovers still on BB6-7 and BB10 in Asia.

 

[cube]

I am not interested in Android phones from BlackBerry. I want BB10.

 

[Aneres11]

Sadly BB10 is clearly dead and as much as I liked some elements of it, I'm not really that bothered.

Give me Android BlackBerry any day.

Also @Hastings101 I completely agree. Mid-high range would be the sweet spot for pricing sake.

I almost can't wait for the release!

 

[Tsepz]

They can throw in a Snapdragon 820 with 4GB RAM AND sell it for a midrange price, if they make the display HD1080P and average camera. As long as it has a large battery e.g. 3200-3500mAh. They need it to have great battery life and good UI performance, otherwise the reviewers will rip it apart and it will never have a real chance of success.

 

[maflynn]

Wow that thing is really long.

Honest question, do you think at this stage, the physical keyboard is a major selling feature? I know BB is counting on that, but hasn't the market (and consumers) moved on from that?

 

[AustinIllini]

I am not interested in Android phones from BlackBerry. I want BB10.

The App ecosystem is too small for viability

 

[cube]

The App ecosystem is too small for viability

That is juggernaut propaganda.

 

[AustinIllini]

That is juggernaut propaganda.

Is your tin foil hat comfortable?

 

[Sam_S]

I am excited to try it in person!! Been a while since I've used a physical keyboard.

I'm going to be looking at either a Blackberry or Nokia this year!! I am really hoping Nokia comes back with a good device this year, I miss them.

 

[Aneres11]

Wow that thing is really long.

Honest question, do you think at this stage, the physical keyboard is a major selling feature? I know BB is counting on that, but hasn't the market (and consumers) moved on from that?

I think a small set of people will see it as a major selling feature, yes.
Not enough to make it threaten the Apple / Samsung crowds, but I do think this is the first BlackBerry in years that could tempt some people over to it. The fact it runs Android is a big selling point, the keypad is an added extra bonus especially when it has the touch capacitive features that are pretty intuitive and give it an extra layer of functionality.

The problem is not enough people will know about it.
I think it could be pretty successful but it would need to see Pixel level of advertisement (basically, everywhere in the UK) to stand any chance, and I can't see that happening.

Personally it's the perfect device for me from an aesthetic view. The reception of it has been fairly positive so lets see if sales reflect it. Pricing and availability will be the biggest factor in that though.

 

[Tsepz]

Wow that thing is really long.

Honest question, do you think at this stage, the physical keyboard is a major selling feature? I know BB is counting on that, but hasn't the market (and consumers) moved on from that?

I guess you never know until you put out a decent product with 1 at the right price.

I think if the Mercury comes in at a competitive price with good software & hardware and fails, it will be a sign that the keyboard is dead, in smartphones.

 

[MRU]

I think it looks great but the Snapdragon 625 seems a poor choice as I suspect this will not be a cheap phone and putting a mid range budget processor it what will inevitably be a pricy handset seems like sabotage ...

 

[Aneres11]

The mid tier specs are because it will be a mid tier priced device. Apparently.

I only know that because it's been being talked about for a few months, even by John Chen himself before the hardware dept was outsourced to TCL.
He even said himself it will be a mid range PKB device as they knew the Priv was priced well too high to be able to compete with the other high end Android devices - especially being the first BB Android.

Lets see what their idea of 'mid-range' is though...

 

[44267547]

Not a bad looking Phone. I was a huge Blackberry user in the past. The back of the phone looks grippy with the beaded appeal.

I'm not sure how this place in a market where Apple and Android are so dominant. If it's priced affordably and has a few proprietary features, with battery life, then it might have a chance to surface.

But my thoughts are Blackberry is to far back to even compete anymore. I wish this Phone luck, it's going to need it.

 

[IowaLynn]

Die hards that really got use to and type better withpkb.
Security.
Samsung throws the kitchen sink in and my S7 ran like it, whereas the DTEK60 (820, 4GB) really is smooth and much better battery usage.

I tried the PRIV, just not pub user and battery was an issue plus wireless charging was not as good as S7.

I'll always have iPhone (6S+ now) and Android. So toss up between an "S8" or Note8 this year.

 

[MRU]

Lets see what their idea of 'mid-range' is though...

Yep that will be the 'crux' ... Given how competitive android has become especially the premium 'mid' we have ...

It would not surprise me though if it's similarly priced (albeit £20-50 cheaper) to the DTEK60 at £400-450 even with the SD625 ...

 

[Aneres11]

Yep that will be the 'crux' ... Given how competitive android has become especially the premium 'mid' we have ...

It would not surprise me though if it's similarly priced to the DTEKT60 at £400-450 even with the SD625 ...

Absolutely agree.

I partly blame One Plus for managing to price their phones so well yet putting outstanding specs into them!
Everything else 'mid-range' just pales in comparison to their devices, particularly the new 3 / 3T.

And lets get real, this Mercury device will be no where near even the original 3 in terms of its internals so already they're going to be a little bit up against it.
Having said that though, who outside of those who are really tech savvy are going to know about One Plus?

The only thing this has going for it is that it's easily recognisable as a BlackBerry due to that keypad. Whether or not that's a good or bad thing will be the big question. Like I've said, advertisement could turn it around for them and put it on peoples radars, but as it's rumoured to be more of an enterprise device they're not going to be pouring all of the required money into adverts when they're not necessarily after the market that Samsung and Apple etc currently dominate.

They can take my money either way though!

 

[MRU]

Absolutely agree.

I partly blame One Plus for managing to price their phones so well yet putting outstanding specs into them!
Everything else 'mid-range' just pales in comparison to their devices, particularly the new 3 / 3T.

And lets get real, this Mercury device will be no where near even the original 3 in terms of its internals so already they're going to be a little bit up against it.
Having said that though, who outside of those who are really tech savvy are going to know about One Plus?

The only thing this has going for it is that it's easily recognisable as a BlackBerry due to that keypad. Whether or not that's a good or bad thing will be the big question. Like I've said, advertisement could turn it around for them and put it on peoples radars, but as it's rumoured to be more of an enterprise device they're not going to be pouring all of the required money into adverts when they're not necessarily after that market.

They can take my money either way though!

Agreed.

If they can launch it properly and get full carrier support from all the major carriers (don't do a stupid exclusive) then subsidised it would be cheap and as a device in a crowded store of near identical handsets - it would really stand out ...

It's whether they can get that carrier support or have too many bridges been burnt.

 

[Aneres11]

Yeah they do have a long long road back but this is their bread and butter.
I think TCL know that.

Part of me is still baffled by why they wasted their time with the DTEK line. They were decent enough phones but they already exist in their Alcatel forms. They also didn't even look like BlackBerrys nor did they get marketed as a personal device to non-business users so that hasn't helped build the brand up but probably wasted god knows how much.

Having said that I don't know how those devices performed in the enterprise world so perhaps they have had success there? Who knows.

Like you say, in a sea of phones that all virtually look the same it has a bit of a chance to stand out. Whether that converts to sales remains the thing to be seen. Personally I think their time has passed for them in the commercial 'everyday user' market. It saddens me a lot, but it is what it is. The brand is damaged and it just isn't cool to own BlackBerry's these days unless you wear a suit!

For me personally I couldn't care less about what other people think about the brand as they cater to my personal needs so well with the PKB. The new Android partnership is just the cherry on the cake.

I just need Apple or Samsung to tap back into the PKB market and make it sexy again and I'm set. *waits*.

Until then I'm ever grateful to BB and will always have a massive soft spot for them!

 

[MRU]

I know you loved your priv, for me I didn't like the build quality of the priv (the weird rubbery textured feel really freaked me out) and it didn't help that it got really hot making it even more 'clammy'.

The keyboard that got loads of criticism didn't bother me though surprisingly, but I like the feedback so far of the mercury that say it's keyboard is more akin to the bold.

This device to me is like the BB Bold 9900 and Passport Silver had a love child. It's good to see TCL embrace BB old design aesthetics after the repackaged Alcatel Idols.

If it surprises me at €400-450 I would give it a chance despite reservations of the 625.